Sisu Oy May Sell Truck Business to Renault

01/02/97

Reuters has reported that Sisu Oy, Finland's state-owned vehicle maker, said that French carmaker Renault might buy its truckmaking operations. Sisu Oy's managing director Christer Granskog said, "the negotiations are still going on, but I cannot exclude that possibility."

Last June Sisu Oy and Renault signed a letter of intent to establish a 50-50 joint venture. The venture was to handle sales and servicing of all Sisu and Renault trucks in Finland, the Baltic states and nearby regions of Russia. Sisu had predicted that the joint venture's annual net sales would hit about $140 million.

In 1995, Sisu's truck operations had net sales that amounted to 11 percent of its consolidated net sales. In its January-August 1996 interim report, the company said Sisu Trucks was unprofitable.

Granskog said he hoped Sisu would be partly privatized and listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange--possibly this year. The Finnish government owns 73.6 percent of Sisu, but parliament authorized it to cut its stake in the automaker to 50 percent.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel